Today, we'll look at the word gauris, which can mean " a lot," "often," "frequently," "much," or "commonly." It is pronounced with the "ow" diphthong in "gown" and takes a schwa in the second syllable. GAURuhs.

In tongbrekkerssechje is in wurd, of in sin, dêr't de útspraak gauris problemen fan jaan kin.

A tongue-twister is a word or a phrase that can frequently cause problems with pronunciation.

You can follow the link to the article to see some Frisian tongue-twisters.

In means "a" or "an" and is said with a schwa. UHn.Tongbrekkerssechje breaks down into three parts. Tong is from the word for "tongue," tonge, and is pronounced with a long "oh" as in "tone. TOHNG. Brekke means "to break." The first vowel is an "eh" as is "wreck," and the second syllable takes a schwa. BREHK-kuh. Finally, sechje means "saying" or "proverb." As closely as I can figure out from examining similarly spelled words, it would be pronounced with an "eh" followed by a -k- and it ends with a schwa. Remember that a Frisian j is pronounced like an English -y-. SEHK-yuh.

Wurd means "word" in this context. It is said with the purse-lipped "o" with an umlaut over it that is found in German, and the initial consonant is a v-. The -r- sound may sometimes get dropped. VÖRD.

Of is the word for "or." Say it with the shorter "o" heard in"dot" or "pot" so that it sounds rather like the English word "off."

Dêr means "who," "that," or "there." Here we see it in a contraction with it. We can translate this contraction, dêr't, as "where" or "in which." It takes the "eh" vowel in the English word "there." DEHRt

The word útspraak means "pronunciation."Say it with an "ee" sound on the first syllable and a long "ah" as in father. EET-sprahk.

Sin has a few meanings, including "phrase." Say it just like the English word "sin," which is actually not one of its modern meanings. The Frisian word can also mean "longing" or "desire" and is comparable to its German cognate, Sinn.

Jaan means "to give." It is pronounced with a particularly long "ah" as "yawn" or "father." YAHN. Note that it is under jaen (old spelling) in P. Simpa's glossary.

Fan has various meanings, including "of" or "by." Say it like the English word "fawn."

Kin means "can," "may," or "is able to." It is said with a short "ih" just like the English word is looks like, "kin."

July 23, 2013

Tsjin is another common and useful word to know. It means "against" and is pronounced with an initial ts- as is "tsar," and with a -y- blending into an "ih" as in "gin." TSYIHn.

Today's example comes from Omrop Fryslân. Omrop means "a broadcast channel," and it literally breaks down as a combination of the wordom discussed in the very first lesson and rop meaning "call" or "cry." Say rop with a long "oh," like the English word "rope." The West Frisian word for Friesland, Fryslân, has been discussed previously here.

You can click this link to hear the sentence in the introduction to the full newscast.

Here is the breakdown for today's lesson:

Nimt is from the infinitive verb nimme, a word which can have many meanings, among them "to take," "to get, acquire, or attain," " to engage," or "to adopt." The infinitive is said with an "ih" as in "brim" and a final schwa. NIH-MUH. The third-person form is said with an "ih" vowel as well.

Maatregels means "measures." Say it with a long "ah" as in father, an "ey" as in "ray," and final schwa. MAHt-rey-guhls.

As always, de means "the" and takes a schwa.

Waarmte is a nice, convenient cognate. Say it with an initial v- followed by a long "ah" as in "father" and a final schwa. If you listen to the beginning of the broadcast, notice that the -r- is more rolled than it is in English. VAHRM-tuh.

As a bonus, hjoed means "today" as is said with a long "oo" as in "mood." You can hear how the initial h- is hardly said at all. In P. Sipma's book, the pronunciation is likewise given as starting with an initial y- followed by an "oo" and a schwa. YOO-uhd.

Grutmeans “big” or “important” and is said with something
similar to an “oo” as in “moon,” perhaps with more pursed lips though. GROOt.

Fanis pronounced like the English word “fawn” and
means “of” or “from.”

Itmeans“the” or “it” and is said with a schwa.UHt.

I’m making an educated guess here on Nederlânske: an “ey” as in “neighbor,” a schwa, a long “a” as in “father,”
and another schwa. NEY-duh-LAHn-skuh.

Rjochtmeans “law” or “right” (as in both the
direction and being right). In older texts such as P. Sipma’s book, you may see
it spelled rjucht, but it is always
pronounced with a -y- followed by a full “o” as in “road.” It also takes the
harsh “ch” (which actually sounds a bit more like a -k than an English -ch)
found in the German “Bach” or Hebrew “l’chaim.” RYOHkht.

Another educated guess for rederij: an initial “ih” as in “rid,” a schwa, and a final “ey” as in “hay”
or “ray.” RIHd-duh-rey. The plural ending -en
takes a schwa; I’m sure of that much at least.

Remember that enmeans “and” and is said with a schwa. UHn.

We’ve looked at skipbefore. It is a cognate of “ship,” and it
sounds like the English word “skip.” The plural takes a schwa on the second
syllable: SKIHp-pun.

Recall that isis the same in Frisian and English.

More educated guesswork: regelewould likely take a long “ey” as in
“neighbor” followed by schwas in the other syllables.

Ynmeans “in” and is said with a long “ee” as in
“green.” EEn.

Boekis a cognate, the Frisian for “book.” It is
said with a long “oo” as in “boo!” or “fluke.” BOOk

The Frisian word for "eight" is acht. Pronounce it with an "ah" as in father and the "kh" sound in "Bach" or "l'chaim." AHkht.

Boargelikshows up in the phrase boargelik rjocht, meaning “civil law.”Boargeritself means a “citizen” or a “burgher.” Say
it with a long “oh” as in “boat,” a full “ah” as in “father,” and with a schwa
in the final two syllables. BOH-ahr-guh-luk.

Wetis another word for “law.” It is said just
like the English word “vet.”

About This Blog

I started this site back when Google Translate didn't have Frisian and the free online FutureLearn course did not yet exist. Thankfully, things have very much changed in five years.

Nonetheless, my old caveat remains: accuracy is not guaranteed (though I do my best) and the approach here is (still) random. This is a hobby for me, not a Ph.D. thesis. If you do know some Frisian and catch an error or three, please post a comment! I write this blog to learn and to help myself retain what I am studying, and hope that others might enjoy reading about West Frisian too.

Copyright

Articles created for this blog may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the author's express permission.